MULTIPLE SUBPIAL TRANSECTION FOR TREATMENT OF INTRACTABLE EPILEPSY

On the basis of experimental study, we applied multiple subpial transe ction (MST) to treat 50 patients with intractable epilepsy in which ep ileptigenic lesion involved functional areas such as pericentral gyrus , postcentral gyrus, Broca's area, Wernicke's area, visual cortex, etc . They were followed up for 6 to 40 months. Complete control of seizur es was obtained in 32 patients, significant reduction of seizure (more than 50%) in 13, reduction (less than 50%) in 3, and no effect in 2. The total effective rate was 96%. No functional defect was found in al l patients. The mechanism of the disease and surgical technique were d iscussed in detail. We consider that MST could replace some standard e xcisional therapy for local epilepsy.